More illness tied to agent orange

Veronica ChufoDaily Press

Patrick Murray, a combat veteran who served in Vietnam in 1969, was diagnosed with diabetes at age 32.

No one else in his family has had diabetes.

"For me to get diabetes at such a young age, the only way I could figure it was, it was Vietnam," the 60-year-old Hampton resident said. "It was inexplicable to me, why in the world would I have diabetes at this young age."

In fact, more Vietnam vets are being compensated for diabetes than any other medical condition, according to The Associated Press. About 270,000 of the 1 million Vietnam veterans receiving disability checks are being compensated for diabetes.

It's one of several illnesses presumed by Veterans Affairs to be linked to exposure to Agent Orange, a chemical sprayed on Vietnam to defoliate its jungles, which provided cover for the Viet Cong. And three new illnesses were just added to the list: Parkinson's disease, ischemic heart disease and all chronic B cell leukemias.

Veterans who have one of those conditions and who served on land in Vietnam, on its inland waterways or on a ship docked to the shore - or who briefly visited those areas -between January 9, 1962, and May 7, 1975, are presumed to have been exposed to Agent Orange, according to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

They are not required to provide the detailed documentation usually called for in establishing a connection between service and illness. They can submit a claim, which may result in a disability rating providing a monthly payment and access to VA medical care for treatment of the condition, according to the Virginia Department of Veterans services.

Veterans who believe they have a disease caused by Agent Orange that's not on the VA's presumed illness list may also be eligible for compensation. They must show that their disease is related to their military service.

Murray has started the paperwork.

"I come from a long line of military people. Being a hard-headed Irishman, we don't do that in our crowd. But I've been getting a lot of pressure from my family over it, and have now decided to apply to see what happens," he said. "If I have something coming to me, I should get it."

Some in Congress aren't sure the government should be so quick in adding presumptive illnesses to the list. Sen. Jim Webb, in a June letter to Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric K. Shinseki, said adding the three medical conditions is estimated to cost a minimum of $42.2 billion over the next 10 years.

Some of the conditions presumed to be linked to Agent Orange are common diseases of aging, such as diabetes, prostate cancer and heart disease, said Webb, himself a decorated Vietnam veteran.

In a May 26 speech on the Senate floor, Webb said he wants to support veterans.

"But I do think we need to have practical, proper procedures and I do believe that the executive branch...needs to be held to an accountable standard," he said.

Murray said his case is different from age-related diabetes, since he was diagnosed young and has no history of diabetes in his family. That's what makes him think Agent Orange is the cause.

"We went to Vietnam for our country, did our job," he said. "We have something that's connected from being there. Don't you think we deserve a little bit of something, a little bit of compensation?"

Clarence A. Woods, another Vietnam veteran and Hampton resident, started experiencing chest pains sometime after retiring from the Air Force in 1979. For years he fought for disability pay, but it wasn't until 2002, when the pains and hyperventilating became so bad he was hospitalized, that he received full disability. Doctors diagnosed severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and linked it to Agent Orange.

Had he known he had lung disease, he would have quit smoking years earlier, he said.

Woods, who's commander of the state Disabled American Veterans, now takes two medications and sleeps with an oxygen tank at night because his lung collapses when he lies down, he said. He views his situation as kind of a Catch 22.

"It's a tradeoff. If they hadn't sprayed, I wouldn't be here. So I can't blame the government," Woods said. "They were doing what they had to do to protect the troops. So I'm not bitter."

His advice to Vietnam veterans is find out if they're eligible to submit a claim.

"Let's face it. A lot of those guys are in my age bracket. Unless their kids or their grandkids make them aware of it, they're not going to know," Woods said. "It's up to their family members to make them aware of it. They're paying high insurance premiums when they don't really need to. They can go to the VA and get some help."

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AGENT ORANGE

The following illnesses are presumed by Veterans Affairs to be linked to Agent Orange exposure:

For more information on Agent Orange, go to www.publichealth.va.gov/exposures/agentorange/

LOCAL HEALTH NEWS ONLINE

Get information, answers and resources for your health at dailypress.com/healthCAPTION: Newport News resident Patrick Murray, 60, served in Vietnam as a combat medic and is now concerned that exposure to Agent Orange, a chemical used to defoliate the jungles during the war, caused the diabetes that he has been suffering with since he was 32.